Editor Interview: Innisfree Poetry Journal

Good poems.

Georgia Review, River Styx, Agni, Gettysburg Review

Stephen Dunn, James Salter, Philip Roth, Galway Kinnell

Our focus is the poem. That commitment has driven our design, which is kept as unfussy as possible, uses colors to enhance the reading experience, and makes it easy to navigate within an issue. I think of editing a poetry journal as an opportunity to share poems with readers who appreciate the same sorts of poems I do, poems grounded in this world we share. Poems that aspire all too consciously to join the avant-garde ought to be submitted elsewhere.

Read previous issues.

One that follows the guidelines.

Failing to follow the guidelines; for example, pasting poems into an email instead of attaching them in a document or forgetting to provide a 3rd party bio.

Not much, though I'm always curious about the submitters.

All of it.

None.

It's a biannual publication, so I read year round and build the new issue as I go. I take the poems I want as I read. I'm always surprised that the number of poets I end up with falls within a range similar to previous issues. Almost always, I return to the submission for a second look before making the decision.

I publish poets who are skilled, so editing is rare. Occasionally, I will suggest small changes, as when fellow poets ask for comment on a draft. I would never publish a poem without the poet's agreement with any changes.

Occasionally.